Brennen Davis is widely considered the top prospect in the entire Chicago Cubs organization.
A big, strong outfielder, Davis has game changing speed and the all around athletic ability to be a star at the highest level.
After battling through a number of serious injuries, Davis is poised to make his mark in the Cubs outfield sooner rather than later.
We recently flipped over some of his early cardboard to get his take on the fun and interesting facts we found on the backs, including his family’s large and exotic pet collection, his athletically gifted parents, his experience at the MLB Futures Game and much more.
Tony Reid- The back of your 2018 Bowman Draft card mentioned your families long list of pets that includes two llamas named Marco and Polo as well as a pet goat. What was it like having a wide and unique array of animals at home growing up?
Brennen Davis– We grew up in a horse household. My mom used to love horses and riding. We had the stables and everything. We moved to California for a year, so we had to get rid of them. We got back and we had all of this room. My mom is a huge animal lover and she is one of the main reasons I am. I love being around them and what they bring to the property.
Moving forward, there was a situation where one of our neighbor’s llamas wasn’t getting along with the horses. We had plenty of room. They stayed over for like three years and the owners just asked if we wanted to keep them. They are way happier with us. They would rather them have a good life than be stabled up on their property. That’s how we acquired those. We have had just about every animal over here. We’ve had peacocks to pigs to donkeys to horses. You won’t find someone that loves animals more than my mom.
TR- The back of your 2020 Bowman Draft card makes note of your very athletic parents with your mom being a long jumper in college and your dad playing pro basketball. How special is it to have two very athletic parents?
BD- I am very blessed to have the genes I do. It’s been awesome having my mom be the backbone. She has been through the whole athletic thing and what it takes to keep your body going every day. That was huge in my mental development and what I had to know to be the best player I can be every day.
TR- A number of your card backs to this point mention you being a multi-sport star in high school. When it came down to it, what drew you to the diamond over other sports?
BD- I would say I played a lot more basketball growing up through high school. Baseball was a sport I played in the spring time. Once I started getting noticed for baseball and putting in a quarter of the time, it was always going to come down to the sport I saw myself going further in and opportunities like that were coming off of me just being myself. I figured if I put my mind to it, I could really make something of this whole baseball career. That was the decision making. I think I could have been a good basketball player but I wanted to be great. I think I can be a great baseball player.
TR- The back of your 2021 Topps Now card highlights your impressive performance at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Can you even put into words what is was like to perform at that level on the biggest stage in the entire sport that day?
BD- It’s hard to put into words. It feels amazing to be able to have that type of performance that everybody dreams about having in an All Star Game. At the end of the day, I could have went 0-3 and it doesn’t change the kind of player I am. It’s hard to conceptualize that I played well that day but at the same time. it doesn’t have as much weight as people give it. I am the same baseball player I was the day before and I was the same baseball player I was the day after. People get pretty caught up in that stuff. I try to keep a level head and really try to take it with a grain of salt. I am really happy with the way I played that day, no doubt about it!
TR-The 2020 Topps Update mentions that you were the Cubs Minor League Player of the Year in 2019 and the fact that Baseball America named you the best athlete and top defensive outfielder in the entire organization. To be on that trajectory has to be an exciting thing if nothing else, right?
BD- It’s awesome. It’s a testament to all of the hard work and all the time my coaches put in with me and be able to mold. I am just trying to get away from the title ‘raw athlete’. The sooner I can get there the better.
TR-Hey, there are much worse things you can be called, right?
BD- Yeah that is very true!
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